The Snake Charmer
by seasickdreams
Summary: Sirius Black is a notorious ladies man at Hogwarts. Jacqueline Benoit is the new Slytherin with an attitude, and she just may give Mr.Black a run for his money. Will Sirius be able to win her heart? Or will this girl prove to be more than he can handle?
1. Platform Nine and Three Quarters

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the cannon HP characters that may have been mentioned in the books and/or movies. I do however own rights to Jacqueline Benoit and any other characters I may happen to come up with. _So don't steal them._

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><p><strong>Platform 9¾ <strong>

Potter Manor was a peaceful place in comparison to the manors that the Black family owned. It was a much brighter, more care free atmosphere even in the worst of times. And given that the Marauders spent their summers harassing Mr. and Mrs. Potter – the worst of times came very often under the rage of Dorea Potter.

Playing pranks on their fellow students, mainly Slytherin House was a specialty of the Marauders. The group or pranksters consisted of four best friends; Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and James Potter. These four were better known as Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs in each other's company. The nicknames given for each of the animal they could turn into; three of the friends were unregistered Animagus, while the fourth was a werewolf.

At Hogwarts, the Marauders were something like royalty. They were the Kings of anything funny. James and Sirius were considered quite the heartthrobs throughout the school. Not that anyone even attempted to as James on a date. It was well known that he'd had eyes for the only girl who wouldn't give him the time of day since his Second Year. Lily Evans was a Muggleborn girl with bright red hair and startlingly green eyes. She also had the temper of a lit firecracker, especially when it came to James Potter.

This summer was different from all the others, and not just because the Marauders would be entering their Sixth Year at Hogwarts. Sirius had left his blood purity crazed home in the middle of July and had spent the rest of his summer holidays living at the Potter's Manor in Warwickshire. Number 12 Grimmauld Place had never been as inviting as the open fields of Potter Manor.

"Oi!" James yelled as he shook Sirius awake the morning of September 1st.

"Five more minutes Prongs," Sirius grumbled irritably.

"Mum's going to have a heart attack Padfoot. Get up! It's nearly nine."

"Doesn't take that much effort to get to King's Cross," Sirius replied tiredly.

In all honesty, Mr. and Mrs. Potter were Side-Long Apparating James and Sirius to London to catch the Hogwarts Express. So in reality, it really didn't take that long to get there. But Dorea Potter would never let James, much less Sirius, out of the house without a mountain of a breakfast in their stomachs. Sirius, irritated with James' chatter, finally sat up in bed. His dark hair was a mess and he glaring at his best friend like he was Severus Snape.

"You still love me Pads!" James grinned triumphantly before running out of the room before Sirius could find an object to throw at him.

Sirius grumbled a few profanities as he made his way to the en suite bathroom. After showering, using the toilet and making himself look presentable to wizarding society he trudged down the stairs to the dining room. Sirius had been right in his assumptions; Dorea Potter was certainly not letting his son or his best friend out of the house without a proper breakfast. Mountains of pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, toast, sausages, bacon, and porridge were laid out on the table. James was wasting no time into stuffing his stomach full to capacity.

"You're disgusting Prongs," Sirius said with a laugh.

"I've got to bulk up for Quidditch!" James replied in protest.

Sirius snorted, "Or in hopes that you might finally woo Evans."

James' face turned the slightest shade of pink at the mention of Lily Evans. Sirius chuckled to himself but didn't state that he noticed James' blushing face. He dug into his modest breakfast, sure that Dorea wouldn't be satisfied with any amount of food he ate. Soon enough, James' mother appeared and started fussing over the amount of food both boys were eating.

"Mum! Honestly, we've had enough. Our stomachs are going to explode if you shove anymore on to our plates!" James complained loudly.

"I worry about how much they feed you at school!" Dorea replied.

"The house elves make far more than enough food for everyone Mrs. P," Sirius laughed, "Besides, we know how to get to the kitchens if James here feels a little peckish."

"Quit fussing over them Dorea, they're nearly grown men," Charlus Potter said as he entered the dining room with a copy of _The Daily Prophet_ in hand. He leaned over to kiss his wife on the cheek before taking his chair at the head of the table.

Charlus Potter and his son looked very much alike – from the pictures of Charlus and Dorea that hung around the Manor, they were the spitting image of each other. Even now that Charlus was balding with a head full of silvery-grey hair; he and James looked exactly alike.

"Have the two of you packed your trunks?" Dorea asked.

* * *

><p>King's Cross Station was bustling with Muggles on Platforms Nine and Ten, which didn't bode well on Dorea Potter's quick temper. The Muggles stared in wonder as James pushed a trolley with his owl in a cage on top. Sirius yawned, eagerly awaiting a nap on the long journey to Hogsmeade Village.<p>

"Be good!" Dorea said to James and Sirius, "I mean it! If I get anymore owls home about the two of you being reckless..."

"Aw relax Mrs. P, I'll make sure James is a good boy," Sirius said.

"It's not just James I'm worried about Sirius Orion," she said, hands on her hips.

"I'll be good too then, I suppose. See you over Christmas Mrs. Potter, you too Mr. Potter. Thanks for-"

"You're welcome in our home anytime Sirius. You're practically our son as well," Dorea said offhandedly.

The two boys bid farewell to James' parents and took off down the Platform to find a seat on the train.

"Remus!" James hollered as they came across the sandy-haired teenager on their journey to find an empty compartment.

Remus Lupin turned to find two of his best friends staring back at him. Remus smiled tiredly in their direction before muttering a greeting in their direction.

"Don't tell me you made Prefect again Remus," Sirius said a lopsided grin on his face. Remus rolled his eyes and pointed at the silver badge pinned to his school robes.

"How will the Marauders _ever_ deal with the _shame_?" James said dramatically before clapping Remus on the back, "Good job Mate. Too bad Evans isn't as lenient as you."

"Speaking of Evans, she's stomping over here looking ready to murder," Sirius said warningly.

James turned in time to get the full blow of Lily Evans' school bag to the chest, followed by several more to the rest of his body. Without a word, Lily stalked off back toward her friends.

"What'd you do this time?" Remus asked curiously.

"I'm sure it was the Howler he sent her proclaiming his love to her," Sirius snickered, "You're lucky that's all you got James. I'm sure Evans was riveting mad when she got that owl."

Remus shook his head, "Just give it up James. She hasn't given you the time of day in six years...I don't think this'll be your year either."

"Ah but it's the thrill of the hunt Moony old pal!" James said dreamily, "Did you see how hot she was when she was flustered like that?"

Remus and Sirius groaned as James drifted off into a dream land – staring after the red haired girl as she boarded the train with her friends.


	2. The Snake

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the canon HP characters. I do however own any characters that I make up and therefore you should not use them without my permission.

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><p><strong>The Snake<strong>

"Who's that?" James asked, motioning to a tall blond haired girl walking past their compartment door. The train had left King's Cross Station well over two hours ago and people were already beginning to roam about the train.

Sirius grinned, "Another Sirius Black conquest. Excuse me there Prongs, I have a lady to charm."

"Women aren't objects Sirius!" Remus called after him as Sirius exited the train. The girl was standing in front of the food trolley, talking with the witch who pushed the cart up and down the Hogwarts Express. Suddenly, she turned and promptly ran into Sirius' chest.

"Watch where you're going!" she snapped irritably a thick French accent flooding her voice.

"I do believe it was you who ran into me," Sirius replied as he plastered a heartbreaking smile on his face.

The girl blinked before shaking her head and attempting to move past Sirius in the small corridor.

"You ran into me and I don't even get an introduction?"

The girl stared at him for a moment before she spoke, "Jacqueline Benoit."

Without another word she swept down the hallway, nearly gliding as she went.

Sirius returned to the compartment, slightly dazed from meeting what he was sure was the girl of his dreams.

"I'd say it went well," James said in an amused manner, "What's her name?"

"Jacqueline Benoit...French accent...looked at me like I was the scum on the bottom of her designer shoes. I think I'm in love Prongs," Sirius said dreamily.

"Are you alright Padfoot?" Remus asked, slightly concerned about the state of his friend.

"Is it safe to assume that the Black charm did not work one bit?" Peter Pettigrew interjected.

Sirius glared at him, "It was only one attempt Wormtail, don't you worry by the end of the year, and Miss. Benoit will be _mine_."

"Another year, another conquest," Remus said absentmindedly before he returned to reading his book.

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><p>The sorting hat sang a different song every year. But this year, among the crowd of First Years stood Jacqueline Benoit. She towered over the First Year students and they all stared at her like she'd grown a second head.<p>

Professor McGonagall, an elderly woman in her mid-seventies, Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor House, unrolled a scroll of parchment with the new students' names on it.

"When I call your name, you will come up and sit on the stool, I will place the sorting hat on your head and you will join your new House," McGonagall said.

The students murmured in excitement before the first name was called.

"Benoit, Jacqueline."

Jacqueline glided past the First Years in front of her and gracefully taking a seat on the three-legged stool. The hat was placed on her head, but it took several minutes to decide where she should be placed. Finally, the hat had made its verdict.

"Better be...SLYTHERIN!"

"Sorry mate, guess she'll be more of a challenge than you thought," James said, clapping Sirius on the back.

Sirius didn't say anything as he watched Jacqueline glide toward the Slytherin table. The challenge would prove to be a little more interesting than he'd anticipated.

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><p>Classes started at nine o'clock sharp each morning and it was no surprise that Sirius Black woke up just in time for Professor McGonagall to hand him his schedule with an annoyed look on her face.<p>

"It would do you well to get an alarm clock Mr. Black. I will not tolerate tardiness from a N.E.W.T. level student," McGonagall said sharply.

Sirius grinned, "Of course not Professor. I'll even be _early _for your class. Front row."

Professor McGonagall blinked, "Do not try my patience Mr. Black. Class, _five minutes_."

Sirius glanced at his timetable; he did indeed have Transfiguration first thing this morning. He groaned before heading back up the stairs to the third floor. Sirius dove into an empty seat near the back of the classroom. He heard James snicker, Remus snort and Peter let out a chuckle. McGonagall arrived in her Animagus form several seconds later, pointedly giving Sirius a stern look. The tabby cat swished its tail and jumped lightly on to the desk at the front of the room. A second later, their teacher stood in front of it.

"Today, we will be discussing the more _advanced_ art of Animagus transformations..."

Sirius yawned, finally glancing over at his desk partner before jumping in surprise. Jacqueline raised an eyebrow in his direction before flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder and going back to taking notes. He watched her in interest as she ignored him completely. Her handwriting was just as graceful as she was, perfect calligraphy. After five minutes of him staring Sirius felt another presence and looked up to find Professor McGonagall standing over him.

"I'm aware that today is the first day of class Mr. Black. But for the sake of passing your N.E.W.T's attempt to pay attention to the lesson or you'll be repeating it. In detention," McGonagall snapped.

Sirius smiled charmingly, "Of course Minnie. Lead the way!"

The class erupted in dull laughter while McGonagall looked less than impressed as she strode back to the front of the classroom.

"What are N.E.W.T's?" asked a voice to Sirius' left. It was quiet enough that it had to have been directed at him. Sirius turned to glace at Jacqueline.

"The Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test; if you want to work at the Ministry they require the highest marks to even be considered. Healers need them too I think, since they have extra training...but there's plenty of witches and wizards who've done quite well without them."

Jacqueline nodded to confirm that she'd understood before returning to her work. McGonagall droned on for another hour while Sirius struggled to pay attention without stealing glances at the girl beside him. At the end of class, Jacqueline stood gracefully, pushed her books, parchment, quill and ink bottle back into her bag and left without a word to anyone.


	3. Potter & Evans

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters that are mentioned within the books, movies or otherwise. I do however own any of the characters I create, and therefore you do no have my permission to use them.

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><p><strong>Potter &amp; Evans<strong>

Lunch hour came after Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. James swiftly took the closest seat to Lily Evans that he could manage – which much to her dismay was right beside her.

"Afternoon Evans," James said with a broad grin.

Lily glared, "What do you want Potter?"

James pretended to be no less than offended, "Can't a chap say hello to his house Prefect without having another motive?"

"Sure, but you're a bigheaded idiot. You always want something, so get your daily request to date me out and I'll give you my daily rejection."

"Oh lighten up Evans! What bloke asks a lady out on the first day of school?"

Lily's face dropped even more in disgust, "_You_ do Potter, for the past three years!"

Without warning Sirius appeared, shot a pile of lily-of-the-valley petals from the tip of his wand over top Lily's head and skipped away merrily while James grinned.

"Would you do me the honour of accompanying me on a trip to Hogsmeade?"

Lily, now bright red with rage, stood abruptly and dumped her goblet full of pumpkin juice over James' head.

"For the _millionth time_ Potter, I wouldn't date you if you were the last person on Earth!"

"That went better than expected," Sirius said as he sat down across from James, "I daresay you're wearing her down!"

James nodded, quite oblivious that he was soaking wet, as he dug into a large marinated chicken breast, potatoes and peas for lunch.

"I'll have her before graduation at this rate."

"What did the two of you do to Lily _this time_?" Remus asked with a hint of amusement in his blue eyes.

Sirius shrugged as he piled several spoonfuls of mashed potatoes on to his plate, "Nothing out of the ordinary."

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><p>There were a few people in Hogwarts that were almost <em>always<em> targeted for any of the pranks that the Marauders were pulling. Any of the first years were easy targets, Slytherin House as a whole and finally, Severus Snape. Snape was a tall lanky boy of sixteen. He had shoulder length, greasy black hair and equally black eyes with a long hooked nose that was too big for his face.

There had been a time when Snape was Lily Evans best friend, but after their fourth year Snape had become immensely interested in the Dark Arts. After he'd called Lily a 'Mudblood' one afternoon by the Black Lake, the Marauders hadn't been as lenient with their 'pranks'. Bullying was a more appropriate term for what they put Snape through, but in their opinion he deserved it after calling his so called best friend a Mudblood to her face. Lily however, had an entirely different opinion on the matter.

It was the first Friday of term, and the sixth year Slytherins and Gryffindors had their free hour together. It was a beautiful day for early September in the northern region of the country and the students were taking full advantage of it. It'd taken all of five minutes for the Marauders to track Snape down and hang him upside down by his ankles six feet in the air.

"Put him down this instant!" Lily's shrill voice said as she stomped over to the scene, her Prefect's badge gleaming in the sunlight.

"Oh lighten up Evans, just a bit of fun," James said.

"Put him _down_ Potter," Lily repeated her green eyes a blaze with anger.

James sighed in an irritated manner and with a flick of his wand; Severus Snape was lying crumpled on the grass. Snape swore loudly upon his landing before standing begrudgingly and starting to collect his school supplies that had dropped from his bag. Lily bent down to assist him, moving to grab a scroll of parchment.

"Don't touch my belongings, Mudblood! Who asked for your help anyways?" Snape yelled before he grabbed the parchment and stormed off.

"And you helped him. Good call Evans," James said glaring at Snape's back as he retreated back into the castle.

Lily didn't say anything but ran off – Remus sighed and pointedly shook his head in James' direction.

"You're clueless you know that?" Remus asked before he took off after Lily's retreating form.

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><p>The full moon was due to arrive the first Sunday back at Hogwarts. The Marauders were already buzzing about how the four of them would spend Sunday night. Most of the time, they just ran around the Forbidden Forest, but there were times when they also wandered Hogsmeade during the full moons. Sirius and James' Animagus forms were large enough that they could control Remus' werewolf form without any issue, although there had been a few close calls that the four of them laughed about after the fact.<p>

"Snape's been skulking around all afternoon," Sirius said irritably as three of the Marauders sat at a secluded desk in the corner of the library.

It was Sunday, and given that Remus was extremely dangerous even the day before the full moon he kept himself secluded in the Shrieking Shack the entire day as well.

"Ignore it Padfoot," James said as he scribbled down another paragraph to his essay for Potions class.

"He's been trying to get one of us expelled since First Year. How can I ignore him being a prat?" Sirius asked.

"Just don't do anything stupid," James sighed, "Get your mind off it. Go pester Benoit or something."

Sirius shook his head, "Nah, I've already 'accidentally' ran into her four times today. She's already right irritated with me."

Peter and James snorted, both shaking their heads as they returned to their school work. Sirius on the other hand skulked off into the book shelves to search for a book for his History of Magic essay. Snape was lingering in the book shelves, pretending to look for a book. But Sirius knew better, Snape would've been done all his assignments the day they were given.

"Snivellus, quit snooping around where your overly large nose doesn't belong," Sirius snapped as he pushed past the boy to get to the books on sixteenth century goblin wars.

"Where's your friend Lupin today Black?" Snape asked a taunting tone in his voice.

Irritated, Sirius turned to look at Snape.

"Why don't you find out for yourself? He's at the Shrieking Shack, there's a passage under the Whomping Willow. Just press the knot at the base of the tree and it'll stop swinging," Sirius replied in the same tone before he left.

Sirius didn't think twice about the statement, figuring that Snape would think he was just being a prat. But for the first time in his life, Snape actually took Sirius Black literally and did just that.


	4. Cause and Effect

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing that originally belongs to JK Rowling and do not earn money doing this. It is purely for fun, and because I dearly miss the HP series.

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><p><strong>Cause &amp; Effect<strong>

James Potter's eyes nearly popped out of his head as Sirius told him about his encounter with Snape.

"YOU DID _WHAT_?" James roared, "Are you insane? By this time Moony will have already changed! He's dangerous Sirius!"

"Like Snape's actually going to take me seriously," Sirius replied in irritation, "I just told him that to shut him up."

James punched Sirius in the arm, "You bloody arrogant prat! What if Snape gets bitten? Or worse! Killed! You'll be expelled either way you bloody git!"

Without another word James had bolted out of Gryffindor tower toward the Whomping Willow.

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><p>Within the following hour, Sirius, James and Snape sat in Professor Dumbledore's office. Snape was thoroughly shaken, but unhurt. James had arrived in time to save the Slytherin from Remus' fully fledged werewolf form; but not in time to save him from catching sight of him. Remus would be angry tomorrow when he woke up human.<p>

"I must impress upon you the seriousness of what you've done Mr. Black. A student could have been killed and to risk your own friend's education," Dumbledore said. He wasn't yelling, but the disappointment in his voice was worse than if he had been.

"I will be taking fifty points from Gryffindor, and you will be serving a week of detention with Professor McGonagall, Mr. Black. Mr. Snape, you are forbidden to ever repeat what you've seen tonight. And Mr. Potter, fifteen points _to_ Gryffindor. It's a rare quality for people to be able to stand up to their friends."

The three boys nodded wordlessly before leaving the Headmaster's office.

James didn't speak to Sirius for the rest of the night, although Sirius realized he probably deserved it. Twenty minutes before curfew he left the common room to fetch a book he'd need for his homework from the library.

It was there that Sirius ran, quite literally into another student.

"Sorry!" Sirius said quickly collecting the girl's books without looking at her, "I wasn't watching where I was going-"

Jacqueline stood in front of him with her eyebrow raised in his direction. He'd been babbling so quickly she hadn't caught a single word he'd said.

"You seem to run into me a lot," Jacqueline said observantly, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Yeah...it wasn't on purpose this time," Sirius replied, handing her the stack of books that had once been in her arms.

"Your brother, he's in Slytherin isn't he?" Jacqueline asked.

Sirius nodded, "Regulus, yeah. Although he's not really my brother now I suppose. My family disowned me over the summer."

"Why?"

Sirius shrugged, "It's a long story, and I'm sure you don't want to hold those books all night."

"You're a very strange person Sirius Black," she said in observationally, a small inkling of a smile crossing her face.

"I-uh...is that a compliment?"

Jacqueline shrugged, "We'll see."

The girl took off down the corridor, heading down the stairs back to Slytherin House's dungeon common room. Sirius stood rooted on the spot, still slightly dazed that they'd had an actual conversation. A second later he realized where he was supposed to be going and took off toward the library. Madam Pince wasn't pleased that he'd arrived ten minutes before the library was due to close, but she allowed him in – even assisting him in finding the proper book.

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><p>"What could you have <em>possibly<em> been thinking of?" Remus asked Sirius at breakfast on Monday morning.

"I don't know. He was annoying me; I wasn't thinking straight," Sirius grumbled, "I'm sorry Moony."

Remus sighed heavily, "Doesn't matter I suppose...no one was hurt."

"Sorry we didn't get to come run with you either," Sirius added.

"It's probably better that way."

"Can't possibly mean _that_ Moony," James' voice cut in as he took his usual seat beside Sirius.

"Where's Peter?"

James snorted, "Finishing his Defence Against the Dark Arts essay. You know him; leave everything to the last minute."

The morning passed quickly, Defence Against the Dark Arts was followed by Ancient Runes – the only class that Sirius didn't have with the rest of the Marauders. He entered the classroom where Professor Babbling was already sitting on top of her desk. The woman was only a few years older than Sirius; in fact, she'd been Head Girl the year that he'd started at Hogwarts.

The rest of the class filed in and Sirius was overjoyed to see that Jacqueline was in this class as well. She took the vacant seat beside Derek Avery, another Slytherin student whom was well known for his interest in the Dark Arts. The class began, and soon they were set to the task of decoding several problems on their own. Sirius breezed through it, much like he did most of his subjects.

"Done already Mr. Black?" Babbling asked with interest.

Sirius smiled, "Of course. You can look it over if you want."

"I doubt I'll need to, your work's normally always perfect. You probably _could__'__ve_ been a school Prefect if you weren't always in trouble."

"Where's the fun in life if you're not breaking rules?" Sirius asked.

Babbling laughed before shaking her head and moving along the row of students to check how they were doing on their work. Class ended twenty minutes later and lunch began with a frenzy to get to the Great Hall.

The rest of the Marauders were already in the Great Hall by the time Sirius arrived from the sixth floor. He slid in beside Remus who was wolfing down enough food for three people.

"Easy Moony, the elves are going to go on strike if you eat more than the entire school," Sirius said jokingly.

Remus glanced at him, rolled his eyes in response and continued to shovel forkfuls of mashed potatoes in his mouth. Remus was always hungry after his monthly changes; it was a tiring process and often left him inhaling any food in sight for over a week.

"So, I was thinking...how do you feel about cheese?" James asked casually.

"Cheese...? And by this I assume you mean the dairy by-product?" Sirius asked.

"Is there any other?" Remus inquired.

"What do you have planned Prongsy?"

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>It's been a while, and for that I am incredibly sorry! I've had some major writer's block and wasn't sure where I wanted the story to go. But I have decided there will be a sequel, and I'm going to start writing the rest of this story over the next few weeks.


	5. Halloween

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters mentioned in the original canon. I do however own any characters and plot lines that are not apart of that an as such, I'll slaughter you like a pig if you decide to steal them.

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><p><strong>Halloween<strong>

The first Hogsmeade trip was scheduled for Halloween, which coincidentally was the last Saturday in October. The Gryffindor students Third Year and above buzzed with excitement over the prospect of visiting the village. The Marauders were especially excited; a trip to Hogsmeade meant a trip to stock up on pranking supplies at Zonko's Joke Shop.

Thus far in their school year, the Marauders had managed to turn Snape's hair pink one afternoon. The vibrant colour lasted well over a fortnight before it began to slowly fade to its usual shade of black. The colour only intensified if Snape attempted to change it back, which he figured out after a week's worth of attempts. By the beginning of October however, it was back to normal. In mid-September, the Marauders had turned the entire Transfiguration hallway into solid cheese. McGonagall was so dumbfounded by their accomplishment she wasn't sure whether to punish them, or give them House points in honour of their profound cleverness. In the end however, the Marauders got a night's detention but also a rare smile from their Head of House.

"Oi! Moony, get out of bed you lazy bones!" James yelled loudly the morning of Halloween.

Remus groaned in irritation, he'd been patrolling the corridors late into the night as part of his Prefect's duties with Lily. Sirius laughed as he prodded Remus in the ribs.

"Wake up Moony! We've got things to buy and ruckus to cause!" Sirius insisted.

"Seems he spent too long patrolling last night," Peter mused, "Perhaps we should inform McGonagall that being a Prefect is too much for old Moony to handle."

"It's not!" Remus yelled, sitting up abruptly to toss his feather pillow in Peter's direction. James and Sirius snickered as the pillow sailed past Peter several feet to the left.

"Easy Moony, Wormtail was just joking. Now get up! We have Marauder business to attend to," Sirius grinned.

Remus grumbled as he tossed on a clean jumper and pair of jeans. He spent five minutes digging around the bottom of his trunk for a clean pair of socks before finally pulling a pair from under his copy of _Intermediate Transfiguration_.

"Moony, we're going to grow beards longer than Dumbledore's if you don't get a move on!" James complained loudly.

Remus glared at him, "I haven't even had breakfast yet and you know it's nearing the-"

"Yes, yes we know. Moony needs feeding; we'll get you a bloody crumpet! Just get a move on!" James said as he pushed Remus toward the doorway.

After a hearty breakfast for Remus, the Marauders made their way down to Hogsmeade on foot. The walk was long, but the carriages had stopped moving students to the village an hour before – and wouldn't be moving again until an hour before the Halloween Feast was due to begin.

The late October air held the chill of the impending winter, but the sun shone brightly every so often through white fluffy clouds. Students were bundled in their winter cloaks already, although some chose to go without mittens, hats and scarves for now. The Marauders scrambled down the gravel path to Hogsmeade village with much excitement. The village was the only entirely magical settlement in all of Great Britain, so all sorts of interesting people and creatures turned up in the tiny village.

"Hey Padfoot, look who's with Avery," Peter said, nodding toward the pair.

Across the street, heading into the Three Broomsticks was Derek Avery his left arm being clutched by a girl with long blonde haired girl that Sirius immediately recognized as Jacqueline. She tossed her hair over her shoulder as they retreated inside the doors out of the chilly air.

"Like Avery is actual competition Wormtail," Sirius scoffed. Although in his chest he felt his heart wrenching at the thought that Derek Avery may actually have stolen Jacqueline before he'd even had a chance.

"Avery doesn't have a girlfriend for more than a month anyway," James muttered to Sirius.

The statement was true; at least it was according to Sirius' younger brother Regulus. Regulus had been friends with the blond haired boy since his third year. According to Regulus, his interest in women wasn't held long – a month was the longest stretch he'd ever gone.

Zonko's Joke Shop was bustling with Hogwarts students as usual, but the store clerk nearly wet himself after catching sight of the Marauders. He fell over himself to assist the four boys in any way they saw fit, collecting an assortment of pranking supplies as the boys wandered through the store. It was well known to each of Zonko's employees that the Marauders were their best customers – so each of them was instructed to assist the four in any way they could.

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><p>The students of Hogwarts arrived back at the school in time for the Halloween Feast. Their cheeks red and wind burnt from the chilly breeze that had picked up to a hurricane force wind sometime after lunch. But the students were more than thrilled to have gotten out of the castle for the day. Sirius took an empty seat beside Lily, whom looked highly relieved when she realized he wasn't James. She offered Sirius a rare, genuine smile before she inquired about his day roaming the village.<p>

"Sirius, who on earth are you _staring_ at?" Alice Bones asked. Alice was a small girl that was barely five feet tall. She was clever, sharp as a tack and happened to be Lily's best friend.

"Just admiring your beauty my fair lady," Sirius replied cheekily.

Alice swatted him in the arm, "You're full of _dung_ Sirius Black!"

"Merlin, for someone so small you certainly pack a punch Alice," Sirius grumbled as he rubbed the spot where she'd hit him.

"You're ignoring the question Sirius," Alice said impatiently, "How can I help you woo your lady interest if you don't tell me who she is?"

"I don't _need_ your help Alice," Sirius replied.

Alice gave him a look that clearly said he did. If Sirius was interested in this girl, he had been since the beginning of the year, since he hadn't had anyone else on his arm.

"It's been two months Sirius, I'm sure you need my help."

Sirius groaned. He and Alice had known each other since childhood, and he absolutely hated the thought of her helping him in the dating department.

"It's Jacqueline Benoit," Lily said as she spooned another helping of mashed potatoes on her plate.

"A _Slytherin_, Sirius? I know you have 'conquests' but, you're going to ignite the house rivalry more than ever," Alice sighed.

"You act like I haven't even considered that," Sirius said irritably.

"I know you better than that Sirius. You don't think much of anything through," Alice snapped.

"That's so thoughtful of you to say Alice, remind me why I'm friends with you again?" Sirius asked in a cold tone.


End file.
